Understanding
Local Communities
This section of the framework provides a broad overview of the importance of working in and with local communities.
Importance of Communities
Communities can be a geographical location or a group where people find and place themselves. Communities often have shared goals, sharing a sense of belonging or connection with the people in the community.
Within mental health services community mental health support plays a key role in enabling other services in the health and social care system to be more effective.
However, availability of services, assets and other resources can have a direct impact on the level of mental health associated issues in a community.
A key aspect of providing effective mental health care is ensuring that communities can maximise the support they provide to people who need it at the time it is required. This issues is particularly key in helping to address health inequalities.
Supporting Service Users | Patients
An important element of the role you will
be undertaking will be to understand:
- There is even greater focus on improving access to mental health support whilst ensuring care is integrated within local communities. Tailored towards the service user’s individual needs health and care providers are working together to make this happen.
- The makeup of the community(s) which you will be working in, whether this be a community of people or a physical place.
- What services does the local community have that may be accessible to your service users.
- Identifying potential opportunities to connect with local services, community groups, with each other.
- Identifying potential barriers for accessing such services or opportunities to share resources.
- Look for opportunities to work with other agencies and support teams to avoid unnecessary repeat assessments or referrals.
- Work collaboratively across voluntary and statutory organisations.